La Spaziale S1Conclusion

Whew! If you’ve read this far, you probably feel that
you’re due a brief summary of how these machines compare. If you
cheated and skipped directly to this conclusion, please go back now and read the
rest of the article.

These three machines are all among the top of their class. There is
however differences in the espresso and steaming results that
distinguishes them from each other. In the hands of an experienced
barista, I believe that many of these differences would fall by the
wayside and what remains would be mostly convenience features,
appearances, and a few noteworthy strengths one holds unequivocally over
the others. With this caveat, I’ll define a few scores to help
explain my overall evaluation.

The first is the exceptional espresso score™.
This is a relative scale of the espresso quality a barista with moderate
experience should expect on a daily basis. The Amica squeaks by the
others in this category, scoring a solid 9.0. The Rituale narrowly slips
by the S1 with an 8.5 for reasons explained in the next paragraph,
leaving the S1 in good standing with an 8.0.

The next score is the “morning after” score.
This is another relative scale that considers those who are learning and
what they should reasonably expect in the early days following
delivery—assuming of course that they have read the manual, usage
notes, and so on. Here the S1 rules, meriting a 9.0 thanks to its
incredible temperature control and deep, channel-resistant portafilter
basket. The Amica follows closely behind with 8.5, assuming of course
that you’ve waited for the top of the boiler heating cycle to
deliver that extra bit of temperature accuracy. If you’re rushed
or not exceptionally demanding, choosing a “pull whenever I darn
well feel like it” approach would only lower its worst-case score
to 7.0. The Rituale lags on this account because of its heat exchanger
design. It is a great idea and works very well but does demand more
hands-on attention than the two other represented machines, scoring a
very respectable 7.0. The Amica and Rituale also increase their score
slightly because the gentle pressure ramp up of the E61 preinfusion
system indeed demonstrates to me that their reputation as forgiving
machines is warranted.

That’s all about espresso. What about the cappuccino and latte
lovers among us? The S1 speed and ease of producing exceptional
microfoam has it dominating this category among the three, although the
Amica at the top of its game vies for first runner-up in single-serving
frothing. The Rituale gains on the Amica because it can deliver steam on
demand, leading to a cappuccino lover’s score of
9.5 for the S1, 8.0 for the Rituale, and 7.0 for the Amica. If you limit
the comparison to a single cappuccino and allow for some patience, I
would raise the Amica’s score to 8.5. Otherwise the Amica merits
its moniker of the “espresso purist’s choice.”

On my final ranking, the convenience and features score,
the S1 also takes a decisive lead. The auto-dosing and on-the-fly
temperature adjustments have it blowing by the others with all cylinders
firing. It also provides for convenient rinsing of the portafilter, a
go-anywhere steam wand, large drip tray, easy cleanup, and
waterfall-like water tap performance that will have Americano lovers
squirming with excitement. This is where the Amica takes its biggest hit
mostly because its steaming ability, which while definitely worth
waiting for, requires considerable patience. The lack of a water tap
also costs it some points. The score in this category is S1 9.5, Rituale
8.5, and Amica 7.0.

I won’t offer an overall score because honestly that depends
too much on the relative weight you place on each of the other scores.
And I wouldn’t dream of proffering an aesthetics score because to
quote an old adage, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
Lastly, to help you better appreciate the relative scale of these
admittedly subjective numbers, I’ll offer the same off-the-cuff
scores for one advanced entry-level espresso machine that I hold dearly
in my memories, the infamous Rancilio Silvia, as shown in the table
below. And in what may be considered cruel, I will also toss in the mix
the ubiquitous steam-type (no pump) espresso machine and what one could
expect from cafés in my area, if only to put things in proper
perspective.

Exceptional
Espresso

Morning
After

Cappuccino
Lover’s

Convenience / Features

La Spaziale S1

8.0

9.0

9.5

9.5

Isomac Rituale

8.5

7.0

8.0

8.5

Isomac Amica

9.0

8.5

*7.0

7.0

Rancilio Silvia

7.0

3.0

6.0

5.0

Steam-type

2.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

Typical café

4.0

n/a

4.5

n/a

* score is 8.5 if a single
cappuccino and you’re very patient

It’s a bit cold to reduce the La Spaziale S1, Isomac Rituale,
and Isomac Amica to mere numbers. It doesn’t really do them
justice. Nonetheless, it will hopefully give you some insight into what
separates these very close competitors. Weeks and weeks of
information gathering, comparisons, and asking questions inextricably
leads to the decisive moment. Rest assured that you are not the only one
who may have invested as much time and effort (or more!) into this
decision as many do when buying a car or even a house. At this level of
semi-commercial and prosumer machines the differences are frustratingly
subtle, and the value of each distinction as subjective as the
definition of a perfect espresso.